<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>A False Confession by taoris</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26194348">A False Confession</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/taoris/pseuds/taoris'>taoris</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Haikyuu!!</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Love Triangles, M/M, TW for Sleeping Disorder, TW for War, TW for blood, TW for hints of trauma</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 06:34:34</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,007</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26194348</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/taoris/pseuds/taoris</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Kenma is a priest sent to heal warriors. Kuroo is a Duke he's helped back in the temple. Ushijima is the prince he has a secret liking on. In the middle of the war, Kenma discovers something about his powers and possibly, something more powerful like love. </p><p>Based on the manhwa of the same title.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Kozume Kenma/Kuroo Tetsurou</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>A False Confession</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Kenma’s mana is emptying, and he knows if there’s one more healing attempt then he might be facing an entire day of black out.</p><p>“Priest.” Kenma gasps when Ushijima, Prince of Chryso, stands next to him.</p><p>“Your highness.” Kenma bows his head out of respect, and Ushijima smiles at him. There’s blood all over his chest but he appears to be unharmed. “Is there anything I could do for you?”</p><p>“Lev seems fine now.” Ushi says, as a matter of fact. And Kenma takes his hand away from Lev’s arm which gushed with so much blood a while ago.</p><p>“Y-yes.” Kenma responds.</p><p>“Come with me.” Ushijima pulls him up and takes him out of the healing tent.</p><p>More injured soldiers are lined up outside the tent in makeshift healing beds that the priests were able to provide. Kenma thought if he healed any further, his body and mana wouldn’t be able to survive through the day from all of the exhaustion. They started to move camps into the dusking sky as soon as dinner finished. Of all people in the camp, Kenma knew he has the least agility.</p><p>He just wasn’t good at trecking and climbing and moving around. The head priest in his church didn’t even tell him that the war will involve so much moving between mountains. Kenma just isn’t used to extensive physical activity. He thought he was just here to heal wounded soldiers.</p><p>Kenma is surprised to realize that Ushijima led him to his tent. The royalty’s tent.</p><p>“Do you-uh... Your highness, do you need to be healed somewhere?” Kenma asks.</p><p>Ushijima shakes his head. He orders Kenma to take a seat to one of the wooden benches and the priests complies. The prince takes a seat next to him.</p><p>“You have to rest.” Ushijima stares at him, concern on his face. And Kenma swears no one has ever looked at him that way that he couldn’t help but get flustered.</p><p>“T-Thanks, your highness.” Kenma bows in respect.</p><p>“Just call me Ushijima.” The prince says. “We’re in the middle of war and titles do not matter. Not when our beacon of hope is talking to an insignificant person like me.” It is only when Ushijima laughs that Kenma realizes it’s a joke. The prince. Is joking. Around. With him.</p><p>Is he alive or is his mana, in its critically low level right now, trying to mess with him by inducing him into a hallucination?</p><p>“S-sorry?” Kenma says. Maybe he misheard him? Beacon of hope? Him? A priest from a lowly church in a small town in Chryso?</p><p>“What priest, can’t take compliments now?” Ushijima smiles at him and Kenma hears his heartbeat clamoring to get out of his chest.</p><p>“I-uh, I’m not a beacon of hope or anything.” He says coyly. “Your highness, thank you. Being a priest is a very humbling occupation. I wouldn’t hesitate to serve under the flag—“</p><p>Kenma gets cuts off when Ushijima places his hand over his. His eyes widens. What is the prince trying to do, holding his hand like this?</p><p>“You eminate such a different kind of light, Kenma.” Ushijima says. “And I know you are Chryso’s beacon of hope. This war needs you.”</p><p>Kenma doesn’t know how to respond to that. He’s eminating a different kind of light? Does the prince mean he could see through his mana?</p><p>“It’s hard to explain but...” Ushijima tightens his grip on his hand. “Your mana seems to be so powerful, but unstable.”</p><p>“M-my mana?” Kenma exclaims.</p><p>The thing with mana is, Kenma has never really had a complete grasp of it. Mana is oftentimes described as the powers in one’s soul. Everyone basically has mana. But it is manifested in different means. Some mana can be manifested through teaching, some can be shown through alchemy, and in Kenma’s case, it is through healing. The moment Kenma’s mana comes out, his parents sold him to the church. Healing powers have become so scarce that the church pays such big amounts to keep these people under their care.</p><p>Since then, Kenma has never heard of his parents. He could barely even remember their faces.</p><p>“I can see through your mana, Kenma.” Ushijima says. “And I know you will be our victory.”</p><p>The tension gets cut off as the entrance of the royal tent flutters open. Ushijima keeps his hand over Kenma’s, even as people enter the tent.</p><p>“Priest.” Says the newcomer, dark eyes scowling in anger as he looks at the prince’s hand on Kenma’s.</p><p>“D-Duke.” Kenma stands up, breaking out of the Prince’s hold. He bows to the Duke, Kuroo Tetsurou, and the man only stares at him.</p><p>“What’s the problem, General?” The prince asks, standing next to Kenma.</p><p>“I need the priest.” Kuroo says, his mood is even darker than his jet black hair.</p><p>“He cannot attend to any more patient, General.” The Prince says, and Kenma wants to disappear at the tension between the two men. There has always been tension between the Prince’s and the Duke’s troops. But it’s apparent that the Duke’s soldiers are more physically trained. They tend to look scarier and intimidating. And the Duke seems to hold onto that well.</p><p>“Your highness, you seem to be underestimating your priest.” The Duke says, and before Kenma can even react, Kuroo pulls him out of the tent. It’s when they’re outside that Kenma realizes that the time is already deep into the night. He’s healed probably a good half a hundred of soldiers today, and has lost track of the time.</p><p>When they got to the Duke’s private tent, Kuroo orders him to sit on the bed. He complies and awkwardly waits as Kuroo just leaves him there.</p><p>What is he doing here anyway? Why did the Duke tell him to sit on his bed? The duke comes back after a few minutes, with a tray of food on his hands. He shoves to Kenma, and the priest utter his thanks as he takes it from Kuroo.</p><p>“Eat a lot. We will camp out again the next morning. We can’t have you getting behind again. You’ll march with my troop this time so you can keep up with our pace. You need energy. And you need to stop healing yourself while trekking. This is why your mana is not ready.” Kuroo nags at him.</p><p>“Gee, thanks.” Kenma says sarcastically and munches on his bread. As he goes to taste all of the food on the tray, Kenma groans in delight. This set is only offered to generals, no one can have bread and meat at the same time in the camp aside from them. The food set for priest is always a mix of vegetables and soup. Having to taste something different in a while is worthy if it meant the Duke would nag at him.</p><p>“Uh.. thanks.” Kenma says it genuinely this time. He couldn’t wait to finish all of this so he could proceed with the dessert—a slice of apple pie.</p><p>“Uh... Your grace?” Kenma says, and it still feels weird to call Kuroo that way, there is no grace with the way this man walks. His stance always says that he’s ready to fight. Your grace doesn’t definitely fit the Duke. “Are you not going to eat...?”</p><p>“I’m not hungry.” The duke is just literally watching him as he sits on the other end of the bed. There’s no chair in his private tent, so the bed is the only place they could sit.</p><p>“Wait, did you just give me your dinner?” Kenma asks. Did he just eat all of the Duke’s food?</p><p>“Does it matter? I don’t want you to slow my troop down when we come marching to another camp tomorrow.” Kuroo says.</p><p>Kenma would have found the gesture sweet if only this man’s tongue isn’t carved that way.</p><p>“Okay then, thank you for the food.” He says sarcastically and eats the last of the meat. Kenma groans at how juicy it is and how his taste bud has missed the taste of meat. His palette seems to be drying everytime he would eat vegetables, but the cooks for the camp makes sure their manas get replenished, and it is through the disgusting taste of greens.</p><p>When Kenma is done with the food, he sets the tray on the table. He disposes it on the trashbag next to the entrance of the tent. He awkwardly sits back on the bed as Kuroo just stares at him.</p><p>“Your mana is replenishing.” Kuroo states.</p><p>Most royalties, like the Prince and the Duke has powers of detecting people’s mana. It’s a common hereditary skill from people their kind, but Kenma still gets surprised whenever they would be able to read him and his energy.</p><p>“T-thanks to the food.” He says as he gives a small smile to Kuroo. “The apple pie... It was nice.” </p><p>“Remember when I still went to your church for ‘healing?’” Kuroo suddenly says.</p><p>And Kenma lights up as he remembers. He’s pretty much known Kuroo for years now, but he’s still intimidating as ever. Kuroo used to frequent his church as the duke had been having... health problems.</p><p>“You still can’t sleep?” Kenma asks.</p><p>He gets Kuroo’s answer by the duke lying down on his bed. He’s closer to Kenma now and Kenma doesn’t know if he should look at Kuroo or not.</p><p>“It’s worse when there’s bloodshed.” Kuroo says and there’s a pinch in Kenma’s heart when he realizes how true it is. For some unknown reason, Kuroo has frequented the church because he’s having problems sleeping at night. At first, he visited and slept in the private chambers. After a while, Kuroo personally requested Kenma to attend to him. Every night.</p><p>It’s the first time Kuroo requested to help him sleep during the entire duration of war. It is the first raid anyway, and the Chryslans didn’t expect such aggression from the Vions. The bloodshed must have been a shock to Kuroo.</p><p>“Close your eyes. I’ll be here.” Kenma says. He thinks about how hard it must have been for the warriors out in the warzone, how every wound and blood is a nightmare set to appear in their dreams the following night. How it must have been harder for Kuroo to lose his men, to carry all of their deaths on his back.</p><p>After a few minutes, Kenma hears Kuroo sigh.</p><p>“Is it not working?” Kenma asks. Kuroo used to sleep just by his presence nearby, but why is Kuroo having such a problem now? Did all the fighting really get so hard to deal with at night? He feels bad for Kuroo and looks at him. When he finds Kuroo staring strangely at him, Kenma looks away. Kuroo moves to the side of the bed and taps the empty space beside him.</p><p>“Lie down.” Kuroo says.</p><p>“Huh?” Kenma’s eyes widen in shock. “I’m sorry but whatever it is you’re planning, it will not happen, Kuroo.”</p><p>Kuroo rolls his eyes as he tugs Kenma forcefully until the priest falls beside him.</p><p>“I need your mana. Get closer.” Kuroo demands. Kenma rolls his eyes and groans in contempt. He doesn’t have a choice, does he?</p><p>Kenma lies down next to Kuroo. And slowly, he could feel the Duke’s breathing getting deeper. After a few minutes, he looks to the side to observe Kuroo. He’s too damn goodlooking, to start with. His pointy nose and those arched eyebrows are so perfect that it’s unfair. Kenma gets surprised as Kuroo’s arm drapes over his waist. He’s deeply asleep so Kenma didn’t shake him off. They stay in that position for so long that Kenma’s back begins to stiffen. As he tries to adjust himself, Kuroo’s grip on his waist becomes tighter, nudging him closer.</p><p>Kenma’s grateful that Kuroo’s asleep or he would have seen the obvious blush on his cheek. His thoughts get cut off as he hears Kuroo mumbles in his sleep.</p><p>“Stay here, Kenma.” He says.</p><p>“I will.” Kenma replies before he closes his eyes.</p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>